'The Big C' Star Laura Linney Kicks Off New Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign

Her Character On The Show Suffers From Melanoma

Turns out, her role as a skin cancer patient on Showtime's The Big C has had a profound effect on actress Laura Linney. It was just announced she'll be starring in a new campaign to raise awareness of the (potentially) deadly disease.

Two organizations, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) teamed up to launch the campaign, which is titled simply, "Protect Your Skin." According to the MRA, melanoma, which accounts for four percent of all skin cancer cases, is the fastest growing cancer in the world. 80 percent of all deaths from skin cancer come from melanoma. On the show, melanoma is the disease Linney's character suffers from.

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Linney, known for her luminously pale skin, will help spread the keynote message: Check your body vigilantly for unusual moles.

"All it takes is a single reminder for a person to do a self-exam that could save his or her life," Linney says. "Encourage the women you care about to do a self breast-exam regularly, and everyone to look over their bodies for any strange markings. Communication can curtail cancer, so talk it up!"

Click here to learn more about the campaign.